


Our world of two

by sphilia



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/566794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sphilia/pseuds/sphilia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Destiny brought them together, their own free will keeps them together. Misc. short Ed x Saiou one-shots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A step forward (Rule 63 implied lesbians)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-s2, Ed is grumpy, Saiou is sad and tired. Rule 63.

She's doing something wrong. She's doing something wrong, and she's not sure what.

Maybe it's just because she's weak. She's been out of the hospital for a week, but she's still so tired, so utterly bone-weary, that she's been spending most of the time in bed. Of course she can't continue like that forever, but it's all still pounding in her head, the enormity of her actions through the years - including all the ways she's hurt Ed. That must be it. It's only natural that Ed would get tired of coddling the person who should, by all rights, be making things up to her, not the other way around.

That must be why she's stopped sitting on Saiou's bed every day she can, talking animatedly about nothing, everything, sharing harsh opinions about rival duelists, or just reassuring her that her brother is doing well. She still comes whenever she's free, but something's changed. She's been so irritable lately, often just staring moodily out the window for long stretches of time, and Saiou doesn't know how to fix it.

She wishes she could.

Ed's here now, later than she can normally stay, always halfway on the way to a new hotel room for a match. She must have canceled something just to come visit, yet she's slumped in the usual armchair, staring unseeingly at the wall. Why did she even come if she doesn't even want to look at Saiou, if she can't even stand the sight of her?

She hesitates for a moment, but she can't stand for the awkward silence to go on. "Ed?"

Ed slowly turns her head toward her with a questioning look. "Yes?"

"Don't you have anywhere to be tonight?"

"Not really." Ed shrugs and looks away, expression studiously carefree.

Saiou frowns. "You'll get in trouble if you skip out on your schedule for no reason, Ed."

"Who says there's no reason?" she counters, a tad exasperated. "Besides, who said I canceled anything? My schedule's been thrown off because of-- everything that's been happening. I don't know where I'll be from day to day, anymore."

That makes Saiou frown for other reasons, looking down at her own fingers reflexively picking at the bedsheets. "You need a new manager."

Ed just shrugs, clearly not particularly interested in this line of conversation. "Senrigan is looking at getting me an assistant to take care of the administrative side of things."

"Ed!" Saiou exclaims, her own heat catching her off guard. "You can't just rely on a _sponsor_ to look out for you! You need someone with _your_ interests in mind, not theirs!"

She looks down in embarrassment when Ed blinks at her outburst, then bursts into a laugh. She has no real right to be upset. A sponsor-provided assistant doesn't have to be that bad. It's probably better than... than having a manager that was only out to use her.

She has no right at all.

"If I do, I'll deal with it when it comes up," Ed says, still grinning faintly. "Who knows, by then I might be able to convince my old manager to return."

That makes Saiou stare at her, caught off guard. Her hands grip the sheets, fingers tangling in them. Her voice comes out cracked when she speaks. "I'm the last person you should trust to look out for you."

Ed tilts her head and crosses her arms, as if she's regarding a perplexing piece of art. "I disagree."

" _Disagree_? It's a fact!" Saiou stares at her, wide-eyed with disbelief. She can't be serious. Ed can't be that much of a fool.

Enough of a fool to still trust her.

"No, I don't think so." She looks away again, aiming an almost sulky expression at the wall.

"Ed," she says then, nearly pleading. "You can't--"

Ed holds up her hand, silencing her. "I can, and I will. No, Saiou, you're not going to convince me to change my mind. You're too..." She trails off, flustered for a moment, but then she shakes her head. "It's not up for debate."

Saiou slumps where she's sitting. A debate... Is that what Ed wants to reduce her crimes to? It won't work. It _can't_ work. All that's happened, the _years_ of slowly building sins, just can't be wiped away that easily.

Ed's returned to glaring at the wall, tense and moody, and just glancing at that scene makes Saiou's heart ache. But she can't not watch Ed.

She hesitates, but she can't bear to let the silence become any more strained. "How long can you stay...?"

Ed looks up again, turning her gaze to Saiou. "I'm staying until tomorrow."

"All night? Senrigan must be furious with you," she says, then bites her lip. She doesn't want to inadvertently bring the conversation back to... before.

Ed waves her hand dismissively. "I told you, even they aren't sure what my schedule is meant to look like right now."

Saiou highly doubts that's the whole truth, but she bows her head in acceptance. She can't quite stop herself from feeling a little pleased, anyway. At least when Ed's here, she's not alone with her thoughts, or the raw, primal guilt when she sees her brother. There's guilt with Ed as well, of course, but _he_... he's family. She can't even begin to deal with that betrayal yet, not while she's still untangling everything else.

And then she realizes Ed is watching her, gaze searching, as if seeking some clue or a missing piece of a puzzle. Saiou isn't entirely sure what to make of it.

"I'm sorry," she says, hesitating. "I know you can take care of yourself. I just... worry."

Ed closes her eyes, sighing. "Take care of myself... Can I really? I couldn't even protect you."

"No... Ed, no." Saiou leans towards Ed, wishing the arm chair wasn't out of her reach. "You've done enough for me for a lifetime."

"Then why can't I help?" Ed tiredly combs her finger through her hair. "It's been weeks, but you're still suffering. Haven't you already had enough pain?"

Saiou bows her head. "I'm sorry."

Ed just shakes her head and rises from her chair, only to flop down onto the bed, next to Saiou. "Apology denied."

"Ed?"

"I won't accept it, so don't try."

"No..." A frown. "Why are you in my bed?"

"It's big enough, isn't it?" she says, casually resting her chin on her hands.

Saiou isn't sure there's a right answer to that, so she just lies down to look up at Ed.

"Why?" she breathes, her voice seeming to get caught in her throat.

Ed lowers herself to lie next to her and reaches to take her hand, lacing their fingers together. Saiou can feel her breath lightly against her face. Like a caress.

"Why not? If I can't figure out how to fix things, I'll just try everything I can think of until something works."

Saiou squeezes her eyes shut, smiling painfully. Her throat suddenly hurts. "You're helping. You've been helping. I'm sorry." She hesitates. "I just need more time."

She can hear a thoughtful noise from Ed. She's reflexively drawing circles on the back of Saiou's hand with her thumb, the light sensation drawing a shiver from her.

"Alright. I'll try to be less impatient." She pauses for a moment. "I'm not leaving, though."

A wet trickle escapes Saiou's closed eye, running down the side of her face and coldly wetting her ear. But she doesn't have the heart to move her hand to wipe it away.

"Thank you."

Ed laughs, but that's fine.

Just this is... perfect.


	2. Who doesn't burn me like the sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-s3. Ed refuses to rest up after Dark World.

After Dark World, Ed sleeps for three days. Not straight through, of course. His waking moments begin to border on the ritualistic; wake. Turn his head to the right to make sure Saiou's still there (he always is). Close his eyes when Saiou places his hand against his forehead (he's pretty sure he didn't catch any Duel Monster diseases in Dark World, but he doesn't have the heart to point that out to Saiou). Refuse to go back to sleep because he's had quite enough of it by now, thanks.

He should probably feel bad that Saiou's perturbed face makes him laugh every time. It's just been a while.

It feels like a lifetime.

In the last few days, they've talked quietly, eaten together, played games (sans cards) together, all while Ed has been a good boy and stayed in bed. Today, that's changing, he's decided. He absolutely is not staying here for another second.

Saiou raises an eyebrow at him when he sits up.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm getting out of bed."

His eyes narrow. Ed would be annoyed at the way he looks as if he's pondering how to deal with an unruly kitten if he wasn't so busy trying to look determined and completely healthy and fit to get out of bed.

"Ed. You're still tired."

Damn. "I'm fine," he says and tries to ignore the concern written on Saiou's face. "I've been in bed for two days. I can't spend the rest of my life sleeping."

"Two days is hardly the rest of your life, Ed." Saiou looks determined now. He's made up his mind. _Damn_.

Ed hesitates for a moment, mentally debating between not upsetting Saiou and getting to stand up and put something that isn't pajamas on. Then he looks straight at Saiou and slowly and deliberately shifts his legs off the side of the bed.

And suddenly Saiou's hands are on the wall on either side of his head. " _Ed_. Please."

He's so close. Ed's pretty sure he can count the individual strands of his hair from here.

"Saiou..." he begins, but falters.

Saiou's pressing his lips to his. No, just touching, really. Just a gentle brush.

His eyes look so frail. So frightened. Ed lifts his hands and brushes his fingers down Saiou's face, his neck, coming to a rest on his back, tangled in his long hair, and tugs him a little closer.

They both seem to sigh, tension leaving them all at once. When they break apart, Ed leans against the crook of Saiou's neck.

"Okay," he breathes. He closes his eyes when Saiou's arms wrap around him.

Maybe _one_ more day of rest won't hurt.


	3. Coddling the unwilling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mid-s2, sometime after episode 68, but kind of incompatible with the canon timeline. Saiou won't listen anymore, and it hurts.

He hates the cloak. That stupid white sheet makes you look ridiculous, he wants to say, but doesn't. It's not as if he cares what Saiou chooses to wear, really, but he hates the way it hides his hair and face and everything but his hands, long and slender.

He needs to eat more.

"Saiou?"

The fact that he keeps him waiting for almost half a minute hurts more than he'd ever tell him.

"Ed." He doesn't even look up. For a moment Ed wishes he were anyone else so he wouldn't feel bad hitting him. Instead, he just invites himself into his ridiculous white room and places a hand on the table to lean down slightly and peer under the hood.

"Isn't this enough for today? You're going to fade away in here if you don't take a break."

He just smiles serenely. "Worried, Ed?"

He's not entirely sure how to answer. Saiou, cooped up in this room, bent over his cards through endless hours. Saiou, hidden by a sheet so well that even his memory of what he looked - looks - like starts to feel blurry. Saiou, not even looking him in the eye or talking to him like he used to. Not that long ago, it seemed to make perfect sense. This is Saiou, has been Saiou for a long time now. It's only recently that he's begun to remember that things were different, once. Because of that ridiculous idea that he attend Duel Academy.

Because of Juudai.

Worried? That one word seems inadequate to describe his thoughts.

"You haven't been eating. Have you even been sleeping, lately? Is it strange if I'm worried?"

He looks up at him, then, his eyes glinting in a way that seems so unfamiliar. He's not entirely sure when Saiou's hand moved to rest atop his, curled just enough that his long nails press gently into his skin.

"And are you going to take care of me, Ed?" His smile is bordering on a toothy grin now. Is he _teasing_ him? If so, Ed clearly isn't privy to the joke.

He frowns, pulling his hand away, and straightens.

"Not if you're not going to take me seriously." He tries his best to look stern. "But if I don't see you at breakfast tomorrow, I'm coming and _dragging_ you out of here."

He turns to leave. He hears Saiou chuckle quietly behind his retreating back, and Ed isn't sure if he's laughing at him or at some private joke he's no longer invited to.


	4. Lose control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-s2... again. Saiou never truly realized how much he relied on his powers until he lost them. Ed takes his confusion in stride.

Saiou imagined this was what it felt like to lose one's vision. One moment he had been filled with power the likes he had never experienced, he could feel everything, see everything - and then it was gone. As if a switch had been flipped, the world had turned dull and colorless, and he had felt emptier than ever before.

This was what he wanted, of course. He was free, from the Light and even from the cursed power that had made him and his sister hated monsters to the world. And he _was_ grateful.

But was this truly how normal people perceived the world? So dully, so distantly, with no connection to one another? Every face an unreadable mask, impossible to penetrate. Even Ed looked foreign to him now, even as he was fussing over the blanket, quite literally tucking Saiou into bed.

He blinked when Saiou reached up to trace the side of his face, but he didn't move away. Saiou hoped that meant he wasn't upset. Touching was a little better, the heat of Ed's skin reminding him of the feeling of emotions, constantly radiating off everyone around him. It wasn't the same, of course, but it was something, and it felt even better when Ed's hand covered his own. Warm.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked quietly.

Saiou shook his head and let his hand drop, faintly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what you're thinking."

"Well," Ed said with a slight smile, "Right now, I'm thinking that you need to rest."

"I know, but..." Saiou bit his lip, upset at his own weakness. This was to be his life, now, after all.

He almost didn't notice Ed leaning down until his face was close enough that Saiou could feel his breath tickling his skin.

"Don't worry, Saiou," he said, small smile still tugging at his lips. "You'll figure it out."

And then he kissed him, lips brushing against Saiou's as softly as a ghost, though it seemed to Saiou as if they left a trail of fire in their wake.

 _Oh_ , he thought stupidly.

Maybe not knowing what Ed was thinking wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
